"Everyone has their own sanctuary. Be it church, the beach, America, or God forbid, school. Mine however, is not a certain place. It is a type of thing. My sanctuary can encompass a large array of things. My sanctuary is technology. Oh what a feeling to have your fingers on the cool refreshing hardware of your home computer. Or to have your hands around the warm black Xbox controller that so many children�s dreams are made of.
One component of my multi-faceted sanctuary is computers or more precisely, the Internet. What a wonderful creation. It is the union of every computer in the world whose owners are �economically enhanced� by the use of phone lines or cable lines. If you have a friend in North Dakota then just power up your computer and u can talk to them faster than if u called them up. This is no longer restricted to your own country. Thanks to the internet I have a couple of European friends. With the new advancements quickly becoming available to the public, we will soon be able to sit down in our comfy chairs in front of our computers and chat with a friend with a live video feed. (This is currently possible, but few people have the required hardware and software to perform such a feet.) The only thing that would stop me from purchasing said hardware, other than my parents, is my income which of late has been nil, save a random couple of dollars my Mom decides to bestow upon my Sister and I.
Another part of my sanctuary is one very close to my heart. Games. All kinds of games. Shooting games, racing games, fighting games, or action games. My all time favorite type of games would have to fall into the category of shooting games. And of course, my next generation console of choice would have to be the all mighty and powerful, black box, more commonly known as Microsoft�s Xbox. Xbox beats up on all the competition because of two main reasons along with many other reasons. The two most important are, the graphics engine which is far superior than Sony�s puny Ps2, and Nintendo�s hastily created Gamecube. Xbox can support more, better detailed and faster graphics using a 233 MHz customed designed X-chip designed by Microsoft themselves. The second reason is that with an Xbox, u will never need a memory card (a small device that connects to the system to save game preferences or other data). The Xbox comes with a 64 Mb hard drive and a 8 Gb Hard Disk built right in. That gives the player enough space to save more games then could ever be played. The single most popular game on the big box, and out of most other games is a wondrous little game by the Bungie Corporation called, Halo. The story line of Halo is that you are a lone remaining super soldier called a �Spartan�. Your job is to lead away an alien armada called �The Covenant� and defeat them on a recently discovered ring world called �Halo�, hence the name. This type of game is a FPS (First Person Shooter) where your viewpoint is that of the character u are playing as. My second favorite game ever is a game based on a book by the popular war novelist Tom Clancy, called Rainbow Six: 3. This game is also a FPS game which and it brings me to the last part of my sanctuary.
When my two favorite things come together, Internet and Xbox, it is like heaven on Earth. First I must explain two things. One is Xbox Live. Xbox Live is an online gaming community that was created because of Xbox�s newly taken on slogan �Its good to play together�. The sole purpose of this online community is to play games online with complete strangers. All the better to yell at, my dear. To hook up your Xbox to the Internet u need two things, one is a broadband internet connection, and a starter kit. The starter kit includes a game, a year subscription to the Xbox Live service, and a head set, the crowned jewel to the Xbox Live gaming experience. The headset consists of one earpiece and a microphone that sets by your mouth. This enables you to yell your guts out at your opponents who may live anywhere. I have played with people in France and Canada over the Xbox Live service. It is an invigorating rush of energy as you run down a dark hallway, your G3A3 assault rifle in hand, and as you round a corner another person who could live anywhere else in the world spies you, just as u spy him. Both yours and his adrenaline pump in a few microseconds. Your entire team has been KIA and likewise his. They are in the affectionately dubbed �Dead Pool� watching your every move and cheering in vain, because the living cannot hear the dead. They scream for you to shoot the guy. Your reflexes quickly fire up, your aiming reticle moves until it is encompassing his body. You quickly and lightly squeeze of three burst shots, containing three shots each. The bullets rip through your opponent and pierce the wall behind him. A female announcer states that your team won. All this happens within a second. That is the thrill which is my sanctuary."
Hope yall enjoy it!
